London, 19 Jul – In an article for The Diplomat on Tuesday, Lord Ken Maginnis argued that the Iranian Resistance, in the shape of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), is building significant momentum against the regime in Tehran.
Reflecting on both the absence of moderation in the regime and the abundance of it in the opposition led by Maryam Rajavi, Lord Maginnis called on Western governments to re-think strategy towards Iran.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 18 Jul – Iran hanged 18 prisoners, this past weekend; with 16 executions on Sunday alone.
Eleven prisoners were hanged in Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran, on Sunday, but only two have been identified; Saeed Saberi and Moslem Bahrami. The charges have not been specified but at least one member of this group was a woman.
Two men were hanged on Sunday, in a public square in the city’s Mehshahr District, according to the state-run Tasnim news agency. They have only been identified by their initials Q. J. and M. R.
Iran Focus
Washington, 18 Jul – The United States’ Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted unanimously last week to back a resolution regarding the rights of Iranian exiles living in Camp Liberty in Iraq.
The exiles are members of Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), who have been designated a protected group of people by the United Nations for the discrimination and violence that they face.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 18 Jul – In the last six weeks, two cases have illustrated the continuing intrusion by the regime into the private space of Iranians. On July 6, 80 Afghan nationals were arrested and deported “for dancing” at a village celebration. On May 26, 35 students were sentenced to flogging for attending a mixed graduation party, a case which also served to underline the draconian enforcement of gender apartheid by the regime.
Iran Focus
London, 18 Jul – Amnesty International released a report on Monday which found that Iranian political prisoners are routinely denied adequate medical care.
The report, Health taken hostage: Cruel denial of medical care in Iran’s prisons, shows that Iranian authorities, particularly the Office of the Prosecutor, and prison administrations, refuse to provide adequate medical care for political prisoners, whether they are stricken with a terminal illness or suffering from the beatings and torture inflicted by the prison guards.
Washington, 17 Jul – Atena Farghadani drew a cartoon mocking Iran’s parliament in protest of her country’s anti-birth control policies. For this, she was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in the summer of 2014.
In her July 15 interview with Michael Cavna of the Washington Post, after she was released from prison, the Iranian artist says: “I’m stuck in a limbo.” referring to the mental weariness and the physical problems caused by her imprisonment. “At the moment,” she continues, “since I’ve arrived at the certainty that there is miracle lying in the art of drawing and painting, I’m more determined to continue doing it than ever.”
Iran Focus
London, 17 Jul – Earlier this month, billions of Muslims around the world celebrated Eid al-Fitr, which marks the joyous end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), writes, “To practicing Muslims of all stripes, Ramadan is a season of compassion, self-betterment and community, values wholly denigrated by the persistence of terrorism and tyranny under the name of Islam.”
Iran Focus
Paris, 16 Jul – Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), on Friday expressed her condolences and heartfelt sympathy to French President, Francois Hollande, and the Government and people of France, especially the families of the victims of the horrific crime committed in Nice at the Bastille Day celebration on Thursday evening. She also prayed for the quick recovery of the injured.
Iran Focus
London, 15 Jul – In his speech at this past weekend’s “Free Iran” conference, which was published on the Washington Times’ website, Tom Ridge, former governor and congressman for the state of Pennsylvania, and a former Secretary of the U.S. Homeland Security Department, urged support of a free, democratic Iran.
Iran Focus
Washington, 15 Jul – The former Foreign Minister of Italy has written an op-ed for The Hill on the West’s mistakes following 2015’s “controversial” nuclear agreement.
Giulio Terzi said that Iran’s past actions should have shown the likelihood that they wold renege on the terms of the deal, but Western politicians continued to laud Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as a moderate. Considering the many reports by human rights organisations regarding Iran’s brutal treatment of political opponents, women, and minorities, the Regime is anything but.
